The "Saveurs du Tarn" brand
Launched in 2012 by the Agropoint agri-food centre, under the impetus of the Departmental Council, the "Saveurs du Tarn" brand aims to promote local products. This label brings together the many flavours of the department, from the Bastides and Gaillac vineyards to the Pays de Cocagne, via the Sidobre and the Monts de Lacaune, the treasures of the Albigeois and the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park.
You can find everything under this collective brand, there is really enough to become "Tarnivore"! It must be said that the department enjoys an impressive diversity of production: meat and poultry, fruit and vegetables, dairy products, jams, breads, honey, beers, biscuits, bottled water, wines, cured meats, saffron, truffles, chocolate, brandies... For several centuries, the people of Tarn have been passing on their know-how and their love of the land. This allows them to offer you a wide range of quality products. These goods sometimes benefit from national and European recognition, an identification that translates into the award of Label Rouge, AOC, AOP, IGP, AB, etc. certifications.
You will have the pleasure of discovering and acquiring these products distinguished by the "Saveurs du Tarn" brand in the four corners of the department and beyond its borders. Perfectly distributed, they have made a place for themselves in supermarkets, grocery stores, factory outlets, markets, in the homes of artisan food traders and on the shelves of farm shops.
A subtle and fragrant terroir
A department of character and gentleness, the DNA of the Tarn is perfectly reflected in its land. The incredible local products are born mainly thanks to agriculture, which has allowed many market gardeners, cheesemakers and butchers to settle here and produce excellent traditional regional dishes. These products can be found in local shops and in the well-informed restaurants that put the terroir at the centre of their tables.
The agricultural character of the department motivates the cultivation of cereals such as wheat, the basic element of the good Lo Cantèl bread, and the "crocus sativus", better known as "saffron". The latter is sold under the brand name "La Belle Albigeoise", in 0.3 g to 10 g pots. This curious sterile plant which reproduces by the bulb has multiple virtues. In addition to its use in the kitchen, where it colours dishes so pleasantly, it is used or has been used as a dye plant, giving a bright yellow colour. Moreover, it has been found to have medicinal virtues: it is an anti-stress and anti-depressant!
Another emblematic production of the territory is the pink garlic of Lautrec. It is said that it is subtle, that its aroma does not irritate the taste buds and that is why it can harmoniously go with all dishes, whose flavor it enhances. Legend has it that pink garlic appeared in the Lautrec region in the Middle Ages, when a traveller who could not pay his bill at the inn paid for his meal with cloves of pink garlic that the innkeeper immediately replanted. Legendary or not, this story is a reminder that this crop has developed in the region to the point of becoming a real market in France and internationally, particularly with top chefs. This pink gold obtained the Label Rouge in 1966, then the Protected Geographical Indication from the European authorities in 1996.
More discreet, the black truffle is also growing in the land of the department. The tuber melanosporum
is found almost everywhere in France and develops in several varieties. Among them, those of Graulhet enjoy a good reputation. At the beginning of the century, the production of truffles in the Tarn was around 10-15 tons/year, i.e. 1/15th of the national production. It was in Penne that a cooperative was established to sell black truffles, taking advantage of the distant foothills of Quercy and the limestone plateaus. It is in these conditions that the black diamond develops its unique aroma, delicate, powerful and generous. Eaten fresh, the largest ones can be grated into soup, added to an omelette, cut into strips with rabbit or slipped between the flesh and skin of poultry. A luxurious dish that goes well with the simplest of dishes!The carnivores will be delighted to learn that the agricultural wealth of the Tarn has also allowed the installation of several quality livestock. We can mention in particular the presence of the veal of Aveyron and Ségala. This farm veal has the specificity of being raised "under the mother", i.e. breastfed by its mother, the cereals being used only as a complement. Rigorously identified from birth, Aveyron and Ségala veal produces tender, tasty, pinkish-coloured meat. A Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) certification, a Red Label for the meat and a Red Label for the processed products guarantee the quality of these products.
But the livestock that attracts the most attention in the region is that of the animals that are used to make the famous Lacaune charcuterie. It is a local tradition to produce pork butchers or to open a pork butcher's shop on the Lacaune mountains. Nowadays, the commune is a central location for the national production of cured meats and charcuterie. Renowned for its quality and flavours, Lacaune's salted meats obtained the PGI for ham and sausage in 2015, a guarantee of traceability and undeniable quality.
Traditional recipes
As for the sweet side, you will not be outdone! In the Tarn, several areas are particularly rich in chestnuts, such as the Sidobre or the Montagne Noire. This basic element, very nourishing, is found in many Tarn recipes. If the big producers have disappeared today, small family chestnut groves still exist.
The list of sweet recipes that make the reputation of the Tarn gastronomy includes emblematic specialities of certain communes. The most famous of them is probably the croquants de Cordes. These small dry cakes with almonds were born in Cordes-sur-Ciel in the 17th century! Nowadays, you can find these delicious biscuits outside the borders of the department, including in supermarkets.
The "échaudés" or "janots" are also on the list. These triangular aniseed biscuits are a commercial speciality of the town of Carmaux and are mainly sold at fairs and markets in the departments of Tarn and Aveyron. Mention should also be made of gimbelettes, traditionally eaten on Palm Sunday, and curbelets, served at the table of King Louis XIV under the name of "oublies".The land to drink
"I will drink milk when the cows graze on grapes" said the Tarn painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. This saying, emblematic of a certain art of living, bears witness to the importance of the vine in the DNA of the department. Rooted in the Gaillac region since the 6th century BC, it has contributed to the wealth and influence of the region through its marketing. The diversity of the Tarn vineyards is reflected in the variety of wines produced, which make up a wide range of different products in white, red and rosé.
The department also has its share of breweries "Made in Tarn" which promote the territory. With nearly 10 craft breweries, it can be said that it is flowing freely. The Brasserie des Vignes, created in 2005 by Stéphane Dumeynieu, a physics and chemistry teacher and great beer lover, offers, among other things, a brewing elixir rich in locally produced barley malt. After a visit of his brewery, you will taste some ancestral beverages such as the Libertine, the Clandestine, the Délinquante or even beer jelly. A small but very interesting museum traces the history of the brewing culture in the region. In the north-west of the Tarn, another brewery opens its doors to you: Oxit, a 100% local beer, brewed directly with barley from the farm created by Damien Chavent, a cereal farmer, passionate about beer and especially about his land. You will surely also hear about the "peasant brewer" from Algans near Puylaurens, who gave the brewing impulse in 1996 with his Karland, or about Frédéric Mas who puts coriander and even nettle in his Saint-Victor beers from the Brasserie du Castel, near Nages.
But that's not all! Did you know that there was a 100% Tarn whisky? The last mobile still in the Tarn, which is almost a hundred years old, seemed doomed by the disaffection for traditional brandies, but it was saved by the rather crazy project of making a whisky "Made in France". Behind this renaissance are Sébastien and Céline Castan, talented winemakers and distillers. For the past ten years, they have been producing "Vilanova" whisky, a modern and innovative whisky of great quality. Today, several single casks are brewed, distilled and matured on site. The production is artisanal in scale, with the emphasis on the quality of the product rather than the quantity. The fruit for the brandies is carefully selected from local producers, when it is at its optimum ripeness and its aromas are well developed.
Finally, we should mention the presence of the mineral waters of Mont de Roucous, which are part of the landscape of French water distributors. Discovered in the 1970s, these spring waters draw their virtue from the Lacaune mountains. Today, the small local company has become an international business! From pregnant or breast-feeding women to senior citizens, including babies, this low mineral content water is ideal for all needs. Another great success story from the Tarn!
